In November of 1990, Dorothy Rix-Pruitt experienced a heartbreaking loss.

Her infant son, Aaron, passed away unexpectedly.

“I had never lost anybody in my life,” said Rix-Pruitt. “I had no idea how to grieve.”

“My son died on the third of November, so he never even got his first Christmas,” she said, “I was a mother and I still had that need to buy Christmas gifts.”

Not long after, Rix-Pruitt had what she described as a “heaven-sent moment.”

“I was walking through the mall and saw this tree with angels on it,” she said. The angels were what really stood out to her, said Rix-Pruitt, and they inspired her to start a tradition of buying angel tree gifts for a child who is the same age as her son would have been.

“I just get one that feels right. It's a wonderful way for me to help someone and still buy a gift for my son,” she said.

'I make a day of it. Aaron's day.'

Twenty-two years later, Rix-Pruitt continues her tradition.

“I make a day of it,” she said, “Aaron’s day.”

She said it is important that they do all of the shopping in one day.

“We go shopping and we return it that day, so it doesn’t get lost in the hurry of life.”

This year is the first year she has let her husband be a part of the shopping.

“He was as excited as I was,” she said.

And since her son would have been 22 years old, her husband suggested they buy gifts for two 11-year-old children.

“When I first started, I bought for a child that matched my son’s birth year, boy or girl,” she said.

But at 14, children are too old for a gift. From now on, she said she and her husband will combine ages until it equals Aaron’s age.

As for the gifts she buys, she said, “I try to get them something meaningful they would enjoy.”

And so she has, for 22 years.

'Christmas morning somewhere, a child is smiling'

Rix-Pruitt said buying an angel tree gift each year is easy to remember.

“If it’s important to your heart, you’ll remember,” she said.

She also said that buying angel tree gifts is something she enjoys doing.

“And you know, Christmas morning somewhere, a child is smiling. And I did that,” she said.

Rix-Pruitt credits much of her Christmas spirit to her father, who instilled in her a sense of just how important Christmas is for all children.

Growing up in California, she remembers her father dressing up as Santa each year and walking around town on Christmas Eve to hand out presents to children.

He would buy the presents throughout the year and the whole family would help, wrapping gifts for girls in one type of wrapping paper and gifts for boys in another.

Rix-Pruitt said she was glad to be a part of that.

'Doing this has helped me heal'

The most memorable angel tree Christmas gift she has ever bought, she said, was the first gift.

“I remember the first one. It was (for) a little girl and her name was Erin and she was two months old.

I bought her a “My First Christmas” ornament.

It was pink and it said “Baby’s First Christmas 1990,” she said, “I will never forget buying that Christmas ornament. It’s what I would’ve bought for my son.”

Rix-Pruitt said that buying gifts for her son each year has helped her immensely.

“I cannot explain to you how much doing this has helped me heal,” she said.

Rix-Pruitt encourages any grieving parent to find a way to remember their children. She suggested doing “something that you’re passionate about because then you’re doing it wholeheartedly.”

'One person can make a difference to one person'

Of herself, Rix-Pruitt said, “I’m not this huge charitable person. This is my one thing.”

She has a job, three other children, and a few beloved pets. She said that she is just a normal person.

“But one person can make a difference to one person,” she said, “Aaron wasn’t here very long but he made 23 children happy.”

Her other children have great ambitions, said Rix-Pruitt.

One wants to be a teacher, another wants to be a fighter pilot in the military.

They will likely change thousands of lives, she said. But just as important is the difference Aaron made, and continues to make.

"Aaron gets to make a kid smile every Christmas," Rix-Pruitt said. "And it’s absolutely just as good."